All posts tagged: Stress

The other week I found myself challenged. You see, I’m one of those people who is easily lead by their emotions. Yep, be it a sad, scary or stressful experience, I’m not shy of getting worked up should the moment dictate it. Fortunately as I’ve aged I’ve mastered the rawness that can come from a challenging or upsetting situation – just don’t put on The Notebook, alright?! This said, stress isn’t something I can always easily shake. I often worry about doing the wrong thing, about managing situations correctly and generating the best results, to putting the right foods in my body and keeping others happy (the list goes on) – even though I know all it usually takes to be successful is a vote of self-confidence. On occasion this stress is detrimental to my wellbeing. When things are really busy I frequently have ‘excel’ themed dreams, which are as much of a sleep-disturbing nightmare as they sound. Likewise, if I watch a horror movie or documentary that encourages me to contemplate a serious topic …

Hey there peeps! Sorry for the radio silence. I’ve had an exceptionally busy few weeks, mainly because on the first day of Spring Aaron and I got engaged! Yay! It’s been a whirlwind of excitement and joy and I can’t quite articulate how happy I am. So being me (somewhat of an organsied, excitable individual), I’m now in full-swing wedding planning mode. And well, I’m loving it! What’s not to love about planning the day you commit yourself to the love of your life in front of all your family and friends. I apologise in advance if the occasional wedding-influenced post pops up. I promise to keep most bites on theme, but with 14 months to go (who’s counting..?!) there most definitely will be the occasional mention. With the celebration came a week of champagne drinking as we toasted the start of our new life together with the people we hold dearest. While the celebrations were incredibly special, the champagne and indulgence every day for a full week nearly ruined me. Post the week of …

Good health is incredibly elusive. Every day we hear of different tricks, tips and rules that we should be following to lose weight, improve focus, reduce inflammation, repair our guts, increase fertility etc. (the list goes on!). Yet, despite trying to look after ourselves many of us still commonly fall sick, feel lethargic, experience pain, or know that something just isn’t quite right. While it’s easy to think that the latest health food craze or promise to get fit is the key to longevity, the most important thing we can do to look after ourselves is to listen to our bodies. So if you’re feeling off, this is your body’s way of telling you that something needs attention. How so? Pain is a sign that something isn’t right – your body is responding to an issue and needs some help and TLC. While painkillers can help manage the pain, they’re not solving the problem, they’re simply hiding it for a few hours. If you experience isolated pain, it’s likely your internal doctor is trying to …

Do you ever feel like you’re constantly yawning and fighting off that heavy eye feeling? If you’re one for the 8am, 10am, 2pm and 3pm coffee pick-me-up, perhaps it’s time to reevaluate how you manage your energy levels. No surprises, sleep and food intake play a big role in how active and alert we feel throughout the day. Today I’m sharing with you a guest post on the ripple effect of tiredness from my friend Mel who blogs over at The Well-Planned Wife. Mel was fortunate enough to recently attend Dr Libby’s Beautiful You Weekend in May and she’s sharing with us what she’s learnt about getting the most from everyday. Lessons from Dr Libby: the ripple effect of tiredness I thought I’d share another thing I learnt at Dr Libby‘s Beautiful You Weekend in May and it’s a topic that particularly resonates with me at the moment. So many of us feel tired regularly, and most of us just ignore it and keep on going (or reach for that chocolate at 3pm). But guess …

Yep, it’s time to play buzzword bingo, and ‘endo’ is the word of the day! Before we get down to business I want to let you know upfront that this post gets a little serious and personal. It’s also quite long and includes some gory details about girl stuff. If that’s not your thing I suggest you read one of my lighter posts. Here is a nice one about a holiday to Tasmania. If you haven’t heard or read the term ‘endometriosis’ (or endo) before, my guess is you’ve been living under a rock. Endo is a disease that affects roughly one in ten women and it appears to be a bit of a hot topic at the moment – hence the buzzword bingo reference (or maybe it’s just the circles I roll in…). Despite having heard of it, unless you actually have a valid reason to know more, most don’t have clue as to what endo really is. I’m about to help you solve the mystery. Women’s health and fertility expert Nat Kringoudis explains …

It’s well known that our bodies have a response that we switch on when danger is present – it’s called the fight or flight response. For those who don’t know what this is – when we’re faced with immediate danger (say a lion jumping out in front of us while on a walk) our body switches on in an unprecedented way. It prepares to either stay and fight or to get out of there as quickly as possible. What happens when this response activates? Our bodies fire up turning on a turbo charge of energy. Hormones like adrenalin and cortisol are released, our heart rate and blood pressure go up, the blood vessels to our muscles open to get extra fuel, sugars and fats pump in to the blood stream and we start to sweat to keep ourselves cool during exertion. Our bodies also pump out inflammatory chemicals to active our immune cells, our senses start to sharpen, and we begin mobilising for tissue repair, all while the attention centre in our brain is lighting …

Hands up if you’re easily stressed-out? With one in four Aussies reporting moderate to severe levels of distress in 2014, if you went that’s me – you’re not alone. Stress is an exhausting, controlling and sometimes incredibly overwhelming process. It can strike when you least expect it, or build up for days, weeks and even months – particularly if you let it get the better of you. As a society we currently recognise several different degrees of stress. These include: Acute stress – sprung from the demands and pressures of the recent past and of the immediate future Episodic acute stress – those who suffer acute stress frequently – they often take on too much, are always in a rush and full of nervous energy Chronic stress – the grinding stress that wears people down and can destroy bodies, minds and lives Acute stress is this most common type of stress that most of us experience in the day-to-day. It is usually short term and the result of emotional pressures, muscular, stomach and gut problems, as well …